1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to pervasive computing and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methods for controlling meeting room resources in an automated manner.
2. History of Related Art
A variety of calendaring and notification applications exist for scheduling a multi-party meeting. Along with capabilities included in each are a number of limitations. For example, many web portals offer registered users an ability to maintain a calendar for their personal use. While such calendars are accessible from substantially any point from which a user can access a web browser, such calendars are limited in that the calendars can be viewed only by the registered user.
Programs such as Microsoft Outlook® and Lotus Notes® offer a variety of calendar specific capabilities as well as a number of associated functions such as, for example, an ability to organize meetings, including managing invitee lists. However, like their web portal counterparts, such applications are also burdened by limitations. For example, Microsoft Outlook® permits users to share their calendar with delegates, however, Microsoft Outlook® does not control and/or initiate meeting room resources such as, for example, projectors and the like. Moreover, these calendaring and notification applications do not communicate with the meeting room resources. As a result, an organizer has to arrive early in order to prepare the meeting room resources for the meeting. For example, the organizer has to manually activate the meeting room resources and manually dial into a conference call.
Moreover, as the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.